Mayor apologizes for city’s botched response to the public after Bite of Seattle shooting

by Jeremy Harris , KOMO News Reporter SEATTLE — Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson issued an apology Thursday afternoon for how public communication was handled in the hours after a mass shooting at the Bite of Seattle festival earlier this week . Wilson cites a miscommunication between her office and Seattle police that resulted in an hours-long delay in basic information about the shooting being released, including whether the Seattle Center campus was secure, a suspect being detained, and initial confirmation the shooting was not a targeted attack on the festival. “Information could and should have gone out much faster,” Wilson said in a taped statement posted to her social media accounts. The first and only press conference of the night was at 11 p.m, a full five hours after the shooting. It was later updated to reflect one suspect was in custody. In the days since, officials confirmed the Mayor, Gov.

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Scoop News DeskSeattle, Washington · Published Friday, July 31, 2026 at 10:34 AM UTCUpdated Friday, July 31, 2026 at 4:32 PM UTC

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RELATED | 3 killed, multiple injured, including toddler, in mass shooting at Bite of Seattle “What I did not fully understand at that moment was how little information had reached the public or the press since the incident began at 6 p.m.,” Wilson said. “Had I known that, I would have pushed for an immediate briefing rather than wait for a press conference to be organized.” Wilson’s office put out a statement on her office blog around 8:30 p.m. that incorrectly stated two suspects had been detained.

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